252 BIRDS OF BRITISH GUIANA. 



is mostly seen perching on the tops o£ the trees near the edge of the 

 oasis. It was often seen searching for amphibia. Schomburgk 

 did not find its nest. 



Mr. J. J. Quelch remarks on this species (Timehri (2) vi. pp. 158, 

 159) : — " A very beautiful species, Levcopternis melanoj s, will 

 ])e met with along the rivers, especially in the more wooded and 

 secluded districts. It does not appear to occur on the cleared 

 lands of the coast, nor on the low savannahs. Around the Indian 

 cassava fields or deserted settlements, it will at times be found 

 perching in the undercover or in the sheltered branches of the 

 trees, jumping from branch to branch in search of grasshoppers, 

 locusts, cicadas, and rej)tiles ; but I have never seen it on the 

 exposed topmost bare branches, so much frequented by the 

 generality of hawks. It is, therefore, not easy to secure, for 

 one generally comes upon it suddenly and at close quarters, 

 and almost before one is aware of it, the bird has jumped into 

 some little thicket of branches and is lost from view. 



" This species is much more commonly met with than the larger 

 Leucopternis alhicollis, and will at times be seen flying about 

 cleared and open spaces in the forest, such as at Seba, along the 

 Demerara River." 



Mr. Quelch's article under the genus Leucopternis (p. 158) is 

 applied to L. alhlcoUls and L. melanops. We have, therefore, 

 copied the same remarks under each species. 



Genus MORPHNUS Dumont. 



Morphnus Dumont, Diet. Sci. Xat. i. p. 88, 1810. Tvpe M. guianensis 

 (Daud.). 



This monotypic genus is distinguished by the long tail and 

 nnch.d crest. The distance between the sunnnit of the nostril and 

 the rid";e of the culmen is less than the length of the nostril itself. 



160. Morphnus g-uianensis. 

 Guiana Crested Eagle. 



Fdlco guianensis Daud. Traite, ii. p. 78, 1800 (Guiana). 



Morphnus guianensis Ga\). in Scbomb. Reis. Guian. iii. p. 738,1848; 

 Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. i. p. 222, 1874- (British Guiana) ; Salvin, 

 Ibis, 1886, p. 75 (Bartica Grove) ; Quelch, Timehri (2) vi. p. 148, 

 1892; Beebe, Our Search for a Wilderness, p. 137, 1910 (Hoorie 

 Creek) ; Brabourne & Chubb, B. S. Amer. i. p. 70, no. 646, 1912. 



Adult. General colour above blackish, the feathers mottled with 

 white and brown, the mottlings on the flight-quills rather darker 



